I vividly remember entering the California Institution for Women for the first time in 2001. As the prison guard slammed the gate behind me, I wondered if I had made the right decision to become a volunteer for an inmate support group. But my nerves were eased by a woman who introduced herself as “Krenny.” Welcoming me into the group, she seemed quiet and insecure — yet also exuded an inner strength. I had no idea how she got here and didn’t ask. It was only several years later, while documenting the support group for a documentary film, “Sin by...

Charles Manson Granted Parole Corcoran, California – One of the most famous killers in the American prison system will be walking free. On Tuesday Charles Manson, who is now 79 years old, was granted parole by the California Board of Parole and authorized by California Governor Jerry Brown. According to California Board of Parole Hearings Commissioner John Peck, prison overcrowding forced the prison board to re-evaluate prisoners that are elderly or those with serious illnesses. In February a panel of federal judges ordered California Gov. Jerry Brown (D) two more years to reduce chronic prison overcrowding that has cost the...

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Former Manson Family member Bruce Davis, who was sentenced to life in prison for two 1969 murders carried out with other members of the cult, was granted parole on Wednesday by a California parole board, although it was not certain he would be freed. Davis' parole must still be affirmed by California Governor Jerry Brown, who reversed a similar decision by the same board last year, saying that the 71-year-old convicted killer remained a danger to the public.

Ideas have consequences and bad ideas have bad ones. I’m often reminded of that when I have a conversation that broaches the subject of human evil. As most of my readers already know, the denial of human evil is a very real problem among younger generations of Americans. Just last week, however, I had a conversation with a college student that really stopped me in my tracks. I have reproduced it below but not for anyone’s entertainment. I have some observations that follow. I hope you’ll give them careful consideration after you read the following exchange: UNC-Wilmington Student: What courses...

There's a new biography of Charles Manson out this month -- which seems like the last thing America needs, in light of the reams of print that have already been devoted to the wannabe pop star who led his "family" to commit nine murders in the summer of 1969, terrifying Los Angeles. And yet Manson: The Life of Times and Charles Manson by Jeff Guinn is riveting, a thoroughly researched biography that manages to be a breezy page-turner. Even those who've already read extensively about the Manson murders and their aftermath may find new insight into the pint-sized West Virginia-born...

A parole board on Wednesday rejected Manson family member Leslie Van Houten's 19th attempt to win freedom. The board also decided she could not seek parole again for five years. Van Houten, 63, was convicted of murder and conspiracy in the 1969 killings of Leno and Rosemary LaBianca in their home in Los Feliz. She has repeatedly been denied bids for parole over the last four decades. “Given the brutality of the murders of Leno and Rosemary LaBianca and Van Houten’s willing and active participation in this evil, pre-planned and violent crime, we are pleased with the parole board’s decision...

California Gov. Jerry Brown is considering whether to grant parole to a convicted murderer who followed notorious killer Charles Manson, a spokeswoman for the governor said. Brown's office received a formal recommendation from the state board parole Friday to release Bruce Davis, 70, who would be the first Manson "family" member to secure freedom solely for good behavior. Brown has 30 days -- or until March 3 -- to either modify, affirm or reverse the parole board's recommendation, a corrections spokeswoman said. In 2010, Davis secured his first formal recommendation for parole by the state board, but then-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger...

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- The California Parole Board has recommended parole for convicted killer and former Charles Manson associate, Bruce Davis. Bruce Davis' 27th parole hearing was postponed back in June after Davis reported feeling ill, the L.A. County district attorney’s office said. The suitability finding is subject to a 120-day decision review period during which the Governor may reverse, modify, affirm or decline to review the Board’s decision. Davis is serving 2 life sentences for the 1969 slayings of musician Gary Hinman and stuntman Donald "Shorty" Shea.

A California parole board Wednesday quickly rejected parole for convicted mass murderer Charles Manson, a prison spokesman said. Manson did not attend the hearing, which was the 12th in which state officials concluded Manson was too great a danger to be released. The board was expected to make a ruling Wednesday afternoon, and it's unclear exactly why the decision was rendered so quickly. Before the hearing, his attorney, DeJon R. Lewis, said he would like to see Manson transferred to Atascadero State Hospital from the state prison near Corcoran. "Charles Manson does not need incarceration at this point in his...

LOS ANGELES— This post has been corrected. See the note below. After 11 failed bids for freedom, notorious killer Charles Manson, now 77, is up for parole later this month. The parole board rejected his bid in 2007, saying Manson [For the record, 9:42 a.m. April 5: An earlier version of this post incorrectly gave the killer's last name as Mason.] "continues to pose an unreasonable danger to others and may still bring harm to anyone he would come in contact with." Manson refused to participate in that hearing, describing himself as a "prisoner of the political system." He also...

After 11 failed bids for freedom, notorious killer Charles Manson, now 77, is up for parole later this month. The parole board rejected his bid in 2007, saying Manson [For the record, 9:42 a.m. April 5: An earlier version of this post incorrectly gave the killer's last name as Mason.] "continues to pose an unreasonable danger to others and may still bring harm to anyone he would come in contact with." Manson refused to participate in that hearing, describing himself as a "prisoner of the political system." He also declined to participate in any psychological evaluations in 2007. "He refused...

Charles Manson, the notorious cult leader, has broken a 20-year silence in an interview from his prison cell to warn the world of an impending apocalypse due to global warming. In a series of rambling interviews from his Californian jail, the man who brainwashed members of his commune known as "The Manson Family" into butchering eight people on two nights in August 1969 described himself as a "very mal hombre". Among those stabbed in the killing spree was Sharon Tate, the wife of film director Roman Polanski, who was eight months pregnant with his child. [snip] Refusing to discuss whether...

(edit)He told Vanity Fair Spain magazine: 'You have to accept yourself as God. You have to realise you’re just the Devil just as much as you’re God, that you’re everything and you’re nothing at all.'Europe is the United States just as much as the United States is America and America is Europe.'Manson, who started championing environmental causes from behind bars, told his inteviewer: 'Everyone’s God and if we don’t wake up to that there’s going to be no weather because our polar caps are melting because we’re doing bad things to the atmosphere.'If we don’t change that as rapidly as...

A Charles Manson follower has been ordered to remain in prison after parole board officials rejected her claim she was a changed woman. The two-member panel said the viciousness and notoriety of Patricia Krenwinkel's crimes outweighed her efforts at rehabilitation behind bars. Krenwinkel, now 63, wept and apologised during the hearing, but officials said the deaths of seven people in the 1969 Tate-LaBianca murders 'remained relevant'.

Hey Boehner and McConnell... you got the cojones to bring this character in for a few questions...? In the wake of the ever-outgoing Charles Manson getting his cell-phone taken away by ruthless class-oppressors at Corcoran State Prison, hardcore lib kooks like Van Jones, Noam Chomsky, and Professor Michelle Alexander have signed a "statement of solidarity" with striking Georgia inmates as they ramp-up a racially-charged "prisoners' rights" offensive in this country... and with a little help from their friends: ...“mass incarceration is the new Jim Crow,” ... “Like the old Jim Crow, this system serves to perpetuate institutionalized racism, economic inequality,...

Convicted serial killer Charles Manson, whose deranged followers killed a pregnant movie actress and then stuck a fork into her stomach, was recently in the news when it was discovered that he had a cell phone that had been smuggled to him in prison. Far less attention was given to Georgia inmates who used contraband cell phones to organize and stage a “strike” in several prisons. This uprising struck a chord with members of the “progressive” community, including former Obama official and communist Van Jones.

Prosecutors are using a new state law lengthening the gap between parole hearings to keep convicted child killer Diane Downs from coming before the board again for a decade. Downs, whose conviction for shooting her three children and killing one outside Springfield in 1984 inspired the Ann Rule book "Small Sacrifices," is scheduled for a parole hearing Friday. The 55-year-old has been locked up more than 25 years for the shootings. State law had required release hearings every two years for more than 1,500 prison inmates eligible for parole consideration, but a new law that took effect last January lengthened...

Let us remember her tonight and tomorrow. And let us remember that the mastermind behind her death is still causing problems in our society. There are cults all over the world who celebrate Charles Manson. Let us think about what that says about our world. The anniversary of her death comes slightly after midnight tonight.

LOS ANGELES — Leslie Van Houten, the one-time Charles Manson follower long seen as the most likely of his ex-acolytes to win freedom someday, was denied parole Tuesday for a 19th time in the killings of Leno and Rosemary La Bianca. At the conclusion of the emotional three-hour hearing, the chairman of the parole board, Robert Doyle, said Van Houten was not yet suitable for parole because she had failed to gain complete insight into her crime and its motivation.

CHINO, Calif. (KABC) -- She was convicted in one of the most notorious murder cases in Los Angeles history, and on Tuesday, former Charles Manson follower Leslie Van Houten faces her 19th parole hearing. It may be her best chance yet for release. She was just 19 when she joined members of the Manson cult in the killings of Leno and Rosemary La Bianca.

Leslie Van Houten, the one-time Charles Manson follower long seen as the most likely of his ex-acolytes to win freedom someday, faces her 19th parole hearing with a new lawyer and new case law which may give her the best chance yet for release. Even if there is a finding of suitability for parole at Tuesday's hearing, freedom would not be immediate. The entire state parole board would review the decision within 120 days and it would then be submitted to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger for a final ruling. Van Houten, 60, remains incarcerated at the California Institution for Women at...

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has rejected a recommendation to parole a member of Charles Manson's cult who was convicted of taking part in killings more than four decades ago. Bruce Davis is serving life sentences for two 1969 slayings, although he was not involved in the infamous murders by Manson followers of actress Sharon Tate and six others in Los Angeles. The governor in a letter made public on Monday reversed a January decision by the state parole board, saying the murders were "especially heinous." "I believe his release would pose an unreasonable risk of danger to society at this time,"...

The LA County district attorney asked the California governor Friday to reverse a parole board decision recommending the release from prison of Bruce Davis, a former Charles Manson follower who participated in two killings. Manson and two of his followers, Leslie Van Houten and Patricia Krenwinkel, remain in prison for life in the Tate killings. Their co-defendant, Susan Atkins, died in prison last year.

Bruce Davis, a member of Charles Manson's murderous cult who participated in two killings, was recommended for parole Thursday after nearly four decades in prison. The 67-year-old Davis has been in prison since 1972 after being convicted in the murders of musician Gary Hinman and stuntman Donald "Shorty" Shea. Attorney Michael Beckman, who represented Davis at the parole hearing, said Davis acknowledged for the first time that he shared responsibility for the crimes, even though he didn't kill anyone himself. "He said, 'I was as responsible as everyone there,'" Beckman said. The recommendation by a two-member panel of the Board...

Who's your daddy? Oh, damn. It's Charles Manson. A 41-year-old man, who was adopted as a 10-year-old and raised in Illinois, spoke out recently about the harrowing discovery. "It was like finding out your father is Hitler," Matthew Roberts told The Sun newspaper. Roberts found out about his long-lost daddy about a dozen years ago after using a search agency to find his birth mother. The birth mother told him that she had been raped and that the 1960s Helter Skelter killer was his father. ------ "I'm a peaceful person - trapped in the face of a monster," Roberts said....

A Gandhi-following, peace-loving, free-spirited vegetarian who was adopted at birth has discovered the worst possible thing a son could find out about his father – his dad is Charles Manson. "It’s like finding out that Adolf Hitler is your father," said Matthew Roberts, a Los Angeles disc jockey. A curious Roberts, 41, began investigating his poisoned family tree about 12 years ago, when he contacted a social services agency, which located his mother, Terry, in Wisconsin, according to the London Sun. His reluctant natural mom fed him bits and pieces, like his first and middle name — Lawrence Alexander —...

A US man has spoken of his anguish after discovering his long-lost father is apparently the notorious serial killer Charles Manson. Matthew Roberts, 41, tracked down his biological mother after she put him up for adoption in 1968. But he sank into depression after the woman revealed his dad is none other than the jailed cult leader, The Sun reported.

At 75, Charles Manson has spent more than half his life in prison for masterminding the notorious Helter Skelter killing spree that left actress Sharon Tate and six others dead in Los Angeles during the summer of 1969. Manson spent his 75th birthday this week at the state prison in Corcoran, California, where he is in the protective housing unit. Some records indicate that Manson was born on November 12, but Manson's current associates and other records indicate his birthday was on Wednesday, November 11. "He spent the day the same way he spends every day in prison," said Terry...

Repent, Roman! A Modest Solution to the Polanski Problem by Brad Linaweaver Ever since the American economy was struck down by a hit and run driver on Wall Street late in 2008, the world has been holding its breath. What would happen next? Well, the Republicans lost power and the Democrats gained power, and somehow the War on Terror marches on without stumbling. The Pentagon budget remains untouchable even though we owe China a trillion dollars. â€śIt's Chinatown , Jake.â€ť The immediate struggle is about a shift in the economy over the possibility of National Health Care. Many people are...

There's a side of America that scares Frenchmen, French Culture Minister Frédéric Mitterrand was quoted by Time magazine Paris-based writer Bruce Crumley, and it's the side of American determination that doesn't let a 32-year-old rape case die, even if the perpetrator is an elderly survivor of the Holocaust. Seeking to explain the "cultural divide" that's as "wide as the Atlantic" between America and Europe, Crumley noted that Europeans are "shocked and dismayed that an internationally acclaimed artist" such as Roman Polanski "could be jailed for such an old offense." Of course, at no point did Crumley cite any public opinion...

With the death of Manson follower Susan Atkins, the man who prosecuted her for first-degree murder said Friday that one of his lasting images was that of a "heartless, bloodthirsty robot." Vincent Bugliosi, however, said that image has become more ambiguous with the passage of time. Atkins, who died Friday, played a central role in the 1969 slayings of pregnant actress Sharon Tate and others in a two-night rampage in the Los Angeles area. She later said she killed Tate even as the woman pleaded for mercy. It's possible it will never be known exactly what happened inside the home...

Atkins, 61, becomes the first of the Charles Manson followers on life sentences to die while in California prisons. She died Thursday night as the longest-serving female inmate in the state. Atkins was convicted in the 1969 murders at the home of actress Sharon Tate in Benedict Canyon and the Loz Feliz home of Rosemary and Leno LaBianca. Atkins, raised in San Gabriel, killed Tate while the pregnant 26-year-old actress was tied with a rope tossed over a ceiling beam. "I was stoned, man, stoned on acid," Atkins testified during the penalty phase of her trial. "I don't know how...

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Susan Atkins, a follower of cult leader Charles Manson whose remorseless witness stand confession to killing pregnant actress Sharon Tate in 1969 shocked the world, has died. She was 61 and had been suffering from brain cancer..." Debra Tate, the slain actress's younger sister, told the parole commissioners Sept. 2 that she "will pray for (Atkins') soul when she draws her last breath, but until then I think she should remain in this controlled situation." Debra Tate noted that she would have a 40-year-old nephew if her sister had lived..." Atkins married twice while in prison....

The sub-headline over the article says it all: "The investigation into a cop killing in the '70s leads to a law professor who helped launch Barack Obama's political career." The law professor is former Communist terrorist Bernardine Dohrn, a leader of the Weather Underground known for praising mass murderer Charles Manson.

People don't always get what they deserve in this world, so it is gratifying to see when someone does. It happened Wednesday when a California parole board insisted that Susan Atkins, a 61-year-old amputee with incurable brain cancer, live her few remaining months in prison rather than the embrace of her loved ones. This may sound like pointless excess inflicted on someone whose crime, committed 40 years ago, is ancient history. But even to mention Atkins without first mentioning her victims is an affront. In 1969, she repeatedly thrust a knife into an innocent woman who was eight and a...

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Susan Atkins, a follower of mass killer Charles Manson convicted nearly four decades ago in some of the most notorious murders in U.S. history, lost her 18th bid for release on Wednesday. Atkins -- terminally ill with brain cancer and, according to her attorney, paralyzed over much of her body -- was denied her freedom by the California Parole Board after a hearing at the prison where she is being held. Now 61, Atkins was convicted in 1971 of taking part in seven "Manson Family" murders, including that of heavily pregnant actress Sharon Tate, the wife...

Forty Years After Gruesome Cult Killings, Susan Atkins is Paralyzed, Near Death Charles Manson follower and convicted mass murderer Susan Atkins is expected to appear in person today to plead for parole so she can die outside of prison, but officials said her condition is on an "hour by hour" basis.

FORT WORTH, Texas – The Charles Manson follower convicted of trying to assassinate President Gerald Ford was released Friday from a Texas prison hospital after more than three decades behind bars, a prison official said. Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme was just 26 years old when she pointed a semiautomatic .45- caliber pistol at Ford in September 1975 in Sacramento, Calif. Secret Service agents grabbed her and Ford was unhurt. Fromme, now 60, left the Federal Medical Center Carswell in Fort Worth at about 8 a.m. Friday, spokeswoman Dr. Maria Douglas said in a statement.

These days, it is difficult to recognize the face of Susan Atkins, a notorious murderer from the Charles Manson cult. Still imprisoned, she's now gravely ill with brain cancer and asking for mercy that she did not give her victims. It was Atkins who held down pregnant actress Sharon Tate while she was stabbed 16 times. Atkins described the crime in blood-curdling detail at a parole hearing 16 years ago. "She asked me to let her baby live," Atkins said at the time. " I told her I didn't have mercy for her." Manson ordered Atkins and other "family" members...

"Feel-good nostalgia tells us that 1969 was the height of the hippie, warm-fuzzy era of peace and love," said Murray Whyte in the Toronto Star, but Charles Manson's "stamp on the culture is arguably deeper and more lasting" than even Woodstock's. Forty years ago, "puppetmaster" Manson orchestrated "a generation's defining criminal atrocity"—the "Helter Skelter" killings in Los Angeles, Calif., during which director Roman Polanski's pregnant wife, Sharon Tate, was among those murdered. To this day, "legions of gawkers" still make a "macabre pilgrimage" to the scene of the crime. "Long after his capture and incarceration," said Owen Gleiberman in Entertainment...

Forty years ago today, brainwashed members of Charles Manson's "Family" embarked on one of the most bizarre killing spree in recorded history. From Aug. 9-10, 1969, seven people were brutally slaughtered in wealthy LA enclaves, and messages -- one of which read "Helter Skelter" -- were left smeared in blood for the cops.

[the program originally aired yesterday (Friday, 8/7/09) at 10 PM ET, but will re-air tonight (Sat, 8/8/09) at 10 PM ET and repeat at 2 AM and 4 AM ET very early Sunday morning, at least according to my cable TV program guide -etl] "On the Record" host Greta Van Susteren hosts "Summer of Evil: The Manson Murders" on FOX News Channel. Forty years ago, a two-night murder rampage in Los Angeles by the followers of an aspiring rock star and cult leader named Charles Manson terrified the Hollywood community and made headlines across the world. In the last four...

The woman who tried to assassinate President Gerald Ford is expected to be released from prison on August 16 after serving her sentence. Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme, a one-time follower of mass murderer Charles Manson, has been serving a life sentence . Fromme has been incarcerated at a prison in Fort Worth, Texas. Fromme had told her defense attorney she staged the attack because she "wanted to get some attention for a new trial" for Manson and members of his gang.

Here is video from this afternoon where Fox News talked with Vincent Bugliosi, the prosecutor of the infamous Charles Manson Family murders of actress Sharon Tate and the Labianca family in California. The murders took place nearly 40 years ago on August 9, 1969. Bugliosi talks about the grisly murders, which included 269 stab wounds, and shocked the entire nation. Fox News is planning a major special report this coming Friday night at 9 pm cdt, with Greta Van Susteren hosting. . . . . (Watch Video)

On Thursday we reported on an overture allegedly made by Charles Manson to recently-incarcerated music producer Phil Spector. Blogs and newspapers were lighting up with the story, including the New York Post's Page Six, which spoke to Spector's wife and publicist. Apparently, the bearded man pictured above wanted to work with the man known for the Wall of Sound. But it turns out, it isn't true. Contact of any kind between the two inmates never occured, says Terry Thornton, spokeswoman in the Office of Public and Employee Communications at the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. In fact, they aren't...

CHARLES Manson secretly runs an autograph business out of his cell, peddling his signature to sicko collectors of crime memorabilia, a new book claims. In "Five to Die," out this month from Thor Publishing, veteran journalist Ivor Davis claims the homicidal cult leader has become one of the richest inmates in the California corrections system by selling signed photos and other mementos he quietly smuggles out of Corcoran State Prison. "Only he doesn't even sign the pictures. He has fellow inmates doing an assembly line of signatures for him. It shows you he's still manipulating people. It really boggles the...

LONDON, Aug 2 — They were the murders that ended the 1960s, the decade of love, in a bloodbath that shocked the world. Now, on the 40th anniversary of the killing of Hollywood actress Sharon Tate and her friends by Charles Manson's "Family", the gang member whose testimony convicted the killers has revealed for the first time her full involvement in the crimes. On the night of Aug 9, 1969, Linda Kasabian was sent by Manson with three other members of his Family — Tex Watson, Susan Atkins and Patricia "Katie" Krenwinkel — to break into Tate's home. There they...